Rhode Island Legislature Approves Bill Banning Sale, Transfer of 'Assault Weapons'

David Hogg didn't get his way, but that's about the only good news to emerge from the Rhode Island statehouse on the final day of the 2025 session. 

Hogg was pushing for the state Senate to adopt language passed by the House that would have banned the manufacture, sale, transfer, and the future possession of most semi-automatic rifles. Instead, the Senate stuck with an amended version of the bill that doesn't specifically forbid ownership of so-called assault weapons... but still makes it virtually impossible for most residents to lawfully acquire one after the ban takes effect on July 1, 2026. 

Senate President Valerie Lawson ruled that an attempt to substitute the House language for the Senate's bill was out of order, which led to a numbe of Senate Democrats complaining that they were being forced to vote in favor of a watered-down bill. Still, the bill cleared the upper chamber by a vote of 25-11 on Friday afternoon, and the House gave its assent to the Senate's bill Friday evening, though not without more complaints from House Democrats. 

Democratic Rep. Rebecca Kislak described the bill during floor debates Friday as an incremental move that brings Rhode Island in line with neighboring states. 

“I am gravely disappointed we are not doing more, and we should do more," she said. "And given the opportunity to do this or nothing, I am voting to do something.”

Senate Republicans offered a series of additional amendments to the bill during floor debate, including delaying the effective date of the ban until 2027, as the chamber did for the recently-passed ban on smoking in casinos. That, along with a measure directing the state's attorney general to compile an annual report on the number of crimes in which an "assault weapon" was used, were both defeated handily by the Democrat-controlled chamber. 

Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz wondered why supporters of the ban were so afraid of the facts that they didn't want to see any data collected that would prove the soon-to-be-banned firearms aren't often used in crimes. The Republican also pointed out that none other than Justice Elena Kagan, writing for a unanimous Supreme Court, recently acknowledged that the guns banned in the Rhode Island bill are the most popular rifles in the country and are widely legal. 

That, of course, didn't matter to the supporters of the ban, many of whom were ticked off that current owners are still going to be able to keep their guns without facing a ten-year prison sentence, which will be the penalty for an illegal transfer if and when the ban takes effect next year. 

Republican Rep. Michael Chippendale, the House minority leader, predicted that if the legislation were to become law, the U.S. Supreme Court would deem it unconstitutional.

“We are throwing away money on this," he said.

It wasn’t just Republicans who opposed the legislation. David Hogg — a gun control advocate who survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. — and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence described the proposed ban as the “weakest assault weapons ban in the country.”

“I know that Rhode Islanders deserve a strong bill that not only bans the sale, but also the possession of assault weapons. It is this combination that equals public safety,” Hogg said in a statement.

Rhode Island is one of the safest states in the country, and that's been the case for quite some time. What Rhode Islanders deserve are politicians who won't repeat anti-gun talking points like they're Gospel, and who'll focus on going after violent criminals instead of turning lawful gun owners into criminals.

Sadly, there are only a handful of those officials in Providence. Ignorance, fearmongering, and hostility and hatred towards a fundamental civil right and the folks who exercise it were the order of the day on Friday. Even worse, Democrats made it clear that this ban is just the starting point, and they'll try again next year to put gun owners in prison if they dare continue to possess a firearm they lawfully purchased.